Telescope Planet - a Review

[sharman24]

hi, i purchased a Skywatcher EXPLORER-130P SynScanfrom telescope planet for my son. i felt, after much looking around their price was good and after talking on phone decided that i was happy to order.

it arrived, quick, checked it out, plugged it in, and found the battery connection kept turning scope on and off when slewed. rang them up, they sent another, same thing, rang again and they said they would send new mount motor unit. heard nothing for several weeks. contacted them again, sent all the order details again! got a text from them to saying could i bend the pins on the mount to achive a bettr connection!!, i explained i was not hapy to do this as it would effect the warranty, they then said they would pick up the mount. i sent back asking when, and do they just want the motor and mount?, now week later nothing, no reply. to be honest, i am disappointed with their service. my son was so pleased to have this for his birthday, and now we have a scope that we have to stick bluetack on the connection to keep the power on.

i have asked several times for a complete replacement but nothing.

[Brett]

Hi sharman

I have the same scope on the same mount and have had the same problems. I got round the loose connection problem by pinching the end of the female plug ever so slightly with needlenose pliers. It works and that way your not going to alter the mount and void your warranty.

[Psychobilly]

Same problem happens with those DC power jacks on all sorts of scopes... if the center pin on the "socket" is the split type then gently easing them apart using the tip of a screwdriver is usually all thats needed...

Theres also a load of different sizes of these DC power plugs and you have to make sure that you have a matching pair.. although if the kits all been supplied together you would hope that they would have got it right...

Peter...

[ollypenrice]

It sounds to me as if this outfit should be thrown out of the magazines' adverts section. That is far too many complaints. There are plenty of good retailers out there, after all. Not replying to customers is totally unacceptable. I suggest that those who have had problems write to the magazines. They do take these things seriously because their advertisers reflect back upon them.

Olly

[Mikea]

Hi Sharman, notwithstanding your experience with Telescope Planet, the connector used on these mounts is poor. Peter's suggestion is right, but you don't need to separate the two halves of the pin by very much. I have the same scope and had the same problem until I used a small screwdriver as Peter suggested. Good luck!

[athlon]

its 4.30am here, 7.30pm there as i look up the phone number details online for telescope planet.

i recently came home to the UK for 3 weeks, and stayed at my brothers in Bristol. I ordered a 2" Skywatcher LPR filter, and an extension adapter for my Canon 1000D. I spoke to Simon personally over the phone, and impressed upon him that i would be returning to Australia 6 days after placing the order, and could they get it to me asap. He assured me himself that as it was only going from Swansea to Bristol it would be next day, and that as he knew i was coming back down under he would make sure i had it before i left. That was some 11 days ago. The money came from my account the second the order was placed. I am now back in Australia, and fuming that i dont have my goods yet, and that they havent even been delivered to my brothers, and am now thinking of the hassle of having to chase them up from here, and get stuff sent out.

not happy, not happy at all.

[steve_bham]

I was looking to get my nexstar 6se from these guys, as the website looked good and spent a bit of time on phone going over the scope etc. Bit put off now wheres the best place to buy astro stuff from

[Space Cowboy]

I got my Skymax scope from Telescope Planet just a couple of weeks ago. The scope was delivered promptly but one of the "free" eyepieces included in the price was missing. After a couple of calls that were met with endless music i got through and was told that the free eyepiece would be delivered separately as they send these from their shop and the scope came straight from the manufacturer. Needless to say a week later i'd not received anything so called back and they apologised and told me the eyepiece was being packaged as we spoke. The next day it arrived! I guess i would only use them again if they are offering a better deal than anyone else.

Speaking of customer service, my first choice was Stockport Binocular and Telescope Centre. They are not far from me so i could go to their shop. Their website states they will match any price and they are willing to help any newcomer with purchasing a scope. I'd gone there a while ago and asked a few questions, the guy in the shop was very helpful so i was encouraged to return and buy a scope. Their price was the same as Telescope Planet but with 2 less eyepieces. Even so i was confident of striking a deal. When i entered the shop i was met by a different guy who immediately made me feel uncomfortable. He was extremely abrupt seemed impatient and very defensive when i asked questions. The price he quoted was £30 more than on their website yet he insisted prices had been set 6 weeks earlier! After i quoted the Telescope Planet price he went away and reappeared with the scope saying it was from old stock so he could price match. I then asked how many eyepieces were included he replied 2. After telling him TP were offering 4 with the scope he abruptly stated "CAN'T DO THAT" Furious with his dismissive attitude i made my exit! This guy had the Patience and helpfulness of a bee stung Basil Fawlty!

[terryf]

I was looking to get my nexstar 6se from these guys, as the website looked good and spent a bit of time on phone going over the scope etc. Bit put off now wheres the best place to buy astro stuff from

Steve,

I can only speak of my experiences, and I would be wary of handing over large sums of money to Telescope Planet, but would have little hesitation in doing so with First Light Optics - never had any problems with them, always prompt delivery, keep you informed of when stuff is being dispatched (OK, so it's an automated system probably, but it gives me a lot more confidence that they are on top of their order and dispatch system). I've had less experience of others, but have used Rother Valley Optics a few times with no complaints.

Tery

[sxinias]

I purchased a Celestron C6S from Telescope Planet last winter when they were on sale (the discontinued model with the manual CG5 mount). The first glitch was that I did it over the internet and the shipping costs were not correctly calculated for shipping to Greece. Fixing the problem took a couple of telephone calls but I soon had my new scope and am enjoying it very much.

I have also contacted their technical advisor on several occasions and always have received a prompt response to my questions.

Would I buy from them again. Yes

Joe

Meade 2045LX3/DS2000 Mount

Celestron C6S/CG5 Mount with iOptron GOTO

Follow up.

I recently wanted to purchase a telescope mount. The people at Telescope Planet were very helpful with advice. However, the same was true of several of their competitors including Green Witch and First Light Optics.

First Light Optics refused my order as they did not want to ship a mount to Greece so Green Witch got the business. Why? Their shipping cost was 50 GBP less than Telescope Planet's and that's a tidy bit of change.

Joe

Sxinias Greece

Meade 2090AT refractor, 90 mm, f=800, f/8.9

Meade 2045LX3 SCT, 102 mm, f=1000, f/10

Celestron C6S SCT, 150 mm, f=1500, f/10

Meade DS2000 GOTO Alt/Az Mount

SkyWatcher SynScan GOTO Alt/Az Mount

Celestron CG5 Mount iOptron Nova GOTO

8x50 Binoculars

[Keithp]

Why oh why don't I listen to my own advice!!!

I don't know about any of you but I do online surveys, useful way of boosting spending on hobbies with out spending 'real hard earned' cash. Anyone want any info pm me.

Anyway to the point, I had £30 worth of amazon vouchers burning a hole in my pocket, so to speak, needed some filters to improve my imaging and the only ones available on amazon were a Meade number 3 set. Turns out the seller is Telescope Planet. Oh ****. I must admit it was late at night and I had embibed a few, maybe I felt sorry for them having started this. I put the order in 24/06/2009, I received a receipt reply and on the 25/06/2009 an email advising the item had shipped.

Needless to say it's the 03/07/2009 and the item has not arrived. I have emailed amazon along the lines of :

How were you informed this item has been dispatched? I will be applying for disclosure of this under the Freedom of Information Act so please consider your reply with diligence.

As much as I have an opinion of Telescope Planet I am interested in how amazon were confidently able to email me advising of dispatch. They had either received notification of such or had made it up. If they received what they believed to be genuine notification then Telescope Planet lied and I will take the matter up with them. I am not going to let this one go until I have a concrete answer one way or the other.

Regards

All

Keithp

PS, just a quick one to FLO, any chance you guys could use amazon, you'd probably have an increase in sales from people with amazon vouchers.

Regards

[Keithp]

Well I gotta admit amazon don't hang around, and this on a Friday evening! <quote>

Thank you for contacting Amazon.co.uk Marketplace.

I am sorry to learn that you have not received your order XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. I have checked your account and found that you have placed this order with one of our registered third party sellers.

Please note purchases made through third-party Marketplace Sellers, as offered on our site are not fulfilled by Amazon.co.uk. Orders on this platform are strictly between the buyer and a third-party seller.

We expect sellers to dispatch their items within 2 business days of your order being placed. I can confirm that your order should have been arrive by the July 02, 2009.

Since the seller is shipping your order, they should be able to let you know of its whereabouts.

Therefore, I kindly request you to contact the seller using the following steps:

1. Just click the "Your Account" link at the top of our site

2. Access your order summary, and click the "View Order" button next to the relevant order

3. Then click the "Problem with this order?" button

Please allow your seller three working days to respond.

If you don't receive a reply from your seller, or are not able to come to an agreement regarding a non-received order, you can use the following link to read the terms of our guarantee and to file a claim for reimbursement of your order cost, if necessary.

Please let us know if you haven’t received your order/a reply from the seller by July 05, 2009, you may file a claim by accessing the following URL:

</quote>

They're still gonna get hit with a request under the Freedom of Information Act...been down this road before with veg oil...don't start me...

[Keithp]

Morning All, you'll never guess what the postie just delivered:hello2:

One number 3 meade filter set.

So after amazon advises despatch on 25/06/2009, they get delivered via 1st class postage on 04/07/2009..WHAT GIVES!?

This is either amazon, Royal Mail or TP telling porkies. I'm pursuing it in the first instance with amazon. They WILL tell me how they were advised the item had been despatched.

Regards

All

KeithP

[johninderby]

What is the date shown on the package?

Royal Mail 1st class isn't a guaranteed delivery service, and if you read their fine print 1st class can take up to 10 days before it's considered overdue.

John

[Keithp]

Hi John, no date, just a first class packet stamp. I know how Royal Mail work, used to be a postie meself for 15 years before moving to IT then being outsourced!

Regards

Keithp

[Keithp]

Hi Everyone, an update...

I just had a phone call from amazon. The very nice lady was enquiring whether I had received my package yet and I said yes it had come this morning.

She also went on to say that 3rd party merchants send the despatched notification to the buyer via amazon. So based on this it was TP who said, via amazon it had been despatched on 25/06/2009 and it took till now!....good job there is no postage date on the packet!

She also said in view of their [amazon] inablity to answer my email enquiry correctly they were giving me £5 into my account! WELL DONE AMAZON.

I think that concludes this sorry state of affairs, draw your own conclusions.

Regards

All

Keithp

[Athena]

Well, I can only speak from my own personal experience.

I've now bought quite a bit from Telescope Planet and find their service good, cost effective and very friendly. Everything I've ordered arrives the following day and in perfect working order.

Their technical adviser, a chap called Steve is extremely helpful, knowledgeable and friendly.

Will I buy from them again; absolutely!

Just my thoughts on this thread

Nikki

[chrish]

Yes they are still incompetent. I order an equinox 66 with tripod eye pieces diagonal barlow. simon the "proprietor2 forgot my order and went on holiday.Then asked me to resend details. Then asked to re-state order details, then asked to confirm delivery address.

I got 2 packages but did not get the diagonal so it will not focus.

Took 3 or 4 more emails to get a response.

Lots of apologies but no quick reactions.

[roman]

Not sure if this is the right place for this, appologies if it's the wrong place.

Is anyone else having problems with telescopeplanet? Luckily I've only ordered an eyepeice adapter worth about £8 but that was back on the 10th March 2009 and its now 23rd March 2009.

I remember a similar delay for a barlow lens before this. I've an email reply from a Simon Heard, that was on the 18th saying it was in the post and would be with me next day....Some hope!

Tried ringing them and was on hold no matter which department I went through to. I think this will be the last time I order anything from them!

Thanks heavens its only a small order and not for a couple of hundred or more!

Regards

All

P.S. do we have a forum for rating suppliers, both good and bad?

telescopeplanet ? never ever ...next day delivery.?ha ha ha

last year i got my 12"dobsonian after 21 days....

[AztecastroMcJ]

i have nothing but PRAISE for Telescope Planet

glad i bought my scope there

it was cheaper and offered more and better Freebies than others

Steve Wainright is very helpfull and knows his stuff

Simon has also been GREAT to deal with

recently got more Accessories delivered Next day

at a REDUCED PRICE (after quick haggle LOL £130worth for £80)

will definetly buy from them again and,

WOULD recommend friends and family too

James

[DAVPPK]

I bought my scope from there...no probs!

[skye at night]

I went down to Telescope planets new showroom today . They have been moving premies from the center of Swnasea where you couldn't park and they had limited space to a new unit in Crosshands

an absolutley stunning red mount on display - anybody want to buy a few kidneys...

They are still in the process of settling in and getting the telephone and computer systems up and running...

Peter....

Sounds like you've just been 'Paramounted!!!' Peter!

You know you want it don't you, you do don't you know!!!

As for telescope planet.. Peter's right, they have been a bit slow due to a move....Bought a top end filter from them recently....

my only gripe is the usual old story... presenting online items as if they are in stock... the filter was not, but they did (after a bit of persuasion) honour it at the old price as it was to go up by 30 percent.

Steve

[Psychobilly]

If it doesnt get sold..... I know where it may be going.... what may be going on it scope wise... and maybe whats going on the scope camera wise....

[Nats]

I have experienced problems with Telescope Planet and can not recommend them. I ordered a pair of £45 binoculars that were clearly advertised on their website and Starry Night Sky Pro v6 software worth £100. They sent me the wrong (I think cheaper) binoculars and the cheapest version of Starry Night worth £20 with no explanation or even an enclosed receipt. I decided actually to keep the binoculars as they said they had been rebranded but were otherwise the same ones - fair enough I thought they seem pretty good Meade ones for the money to be honest. But they offered to do a swap via courier of the software rather than have me return it for a refund. So thats what I arranged but when it came they exchanged me Starry Night Enthusiast worth £40 still not Pro. When I asked them what was going on by phone they said that it was an honest mistake by someone new in the sales team and the bloke said he would himself sort out the correct swap for the next day. But I then got a later message saying they couldnt swap as the Pro software was actually out of stock for a week. So I waited till today which was when they expected to have the software back in stock, and nothing - no email or anything. And I am going on holiday in two days time. I am realy annoyed with them, they have apologised several times but its just not good enough. They are either completely useless or just really sloppy. Either way I am still waiting for my software a week and a half later. I would defeinitely say do not use Telescope Planet whatever you do!!

[skye at night]

I was looking to get my nexstar 6se from these guys, as the website looked good and spent a bit of time on phone going over the scope etc. Bit put off now wheres the best place to buy astro stuff from

IKI

Modern Astronomy

Rother Valley

Scopes N Skies ( just kidding on that one..)

Steve